How did the album come about? “It’s been ten years since I wrote and produced my first album – before I started studying and singing jazz. This was successful in its genre, but after some years on my jazz journey (and with vocal adjustments, including taming the vib!) it seemed timely to produce a […]
Saxophonist Tony Kofi studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, performed in The Jazz Warriors and worked with Andrew Hill and Sam Rivers. On his debut album, All Is Know, he recorded the music of Thelonious Monk. In 2010 he recorded an album with Jamaladeen Tacuma and jazz legend Ornette Coleman. Here he answers […]
Tell us a bit about where you’re from and how you got into jazz. “I’m from Shropshire. At the time I grew up in the 70s and 80s there wasn’t much jazz in Shropshire. In the 80s I had a job in a TV shop and CD players had just come out and I […]
How did you first get into jazz? “On a family holiday when I was eleven we had a Billie Holiday tape on loop. I was really intrigued by the harmonies – they were just the right balance between accessible and unusual – and when I got home I sat at the piano and tried […]
Tell us a bit about yourself. “I’m 35 years old and in my 20th year in music. I started in rock music but quickly I moved to playing blues. I was confused at that moment, so I learnt the music from the roots.” “I studied music at a conservatory for classical music […]
Brighton pianist Mark Edwards talked to Charlie Anderson about his latest album, In Deep, and his ensemble Cloggz. What first drew you to the piano as an instrument? “I don’t remember a time when playing the piano was not a part of my daily life. It was there in the home. My dad loved […]
Drummer Pete Hill interviewed by Charlie Anderson How did the band come about? “We were all studying on the jazz programme at Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London and we had all played together in various different outfits but never as a band. There was a project as part of the course in which […]
Sussex vocalist Heather Cairncross met up with editor Charlie Anderson at The Brunswick in Hove to talk about her experiences in jazz. You recorded your first jazz album with acclaimed jazz pianist Dave Newton. How did that come about? “I met Dave Newton at the Hare & Hounds in Worthing. I went along […]
I first saw you playing with Tommy Chase back in the Eighties. What are your memories of working in that band? “Working with Tommy Chase was, at that time, a real learning experience for me. He certainly knew what he did and didn’t want! He’d tell me to play shorter, more sing-able phrases […]
Jazz ensemble Empirical recently released their 4th studio album Tabula Rasa and have been touring the UK to promote it. Ahead of their appearance this month in Brighton, SJM editor Charlie Anderson caught up with bassist Tom Farmer and asked him some questions submitted by readers of The Sussex Jazz Magazine. So, my first question […]